In 2023, Ukrainians’ approval of leaders in the United States witnessed a serious decline, as revealed by a survey conducted by Gallup.
The survey indicated that 53 percent of respondents in Ukraine approved of U.S. leadership in 2023, marking an outstanding decrease of 13 percentage points from the previous year’s record-high approval rating of 66 percent in 2022.
This shift in sentiment coincided with ongoing geopolitical tensions, particularly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Flag of Ukraine (Credits: Wikipedia)
Among those surveyed, 22 percent expressed disapproval of U.S. leadership, while 25 percent either remained unsure or declined to respond to the question. The polling, which assessed world leadership approval ratings, took place throughout 2023, approximately one year after the onset of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
The survey also highlighted broader trends in global perceptions of U.S. leadership. While the median global approval rating remained steady at 41 percent in 2023, the approval ratings of U.S. leadership experienced declines in various countries.
For instance, Finland’s approval rating dropped by 13 percentage points, and India’s by 11 percentage points compared to the previous year.
Conversely, Israel demonstrated increased approval of U.S. leadership in 2023, with 81 percent of respondents expressing approval—an increase of 16 percentage points from the preceding year.
Ukraine flag (Credits: Ukraine)
These findings coincide with recent legislative actions, the House’s approval of a substantial foreign aid package. The package, encompassing allocations for Ukraine, Israel, global humanitarian aid, and U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific region, reflects ongoing efforts to address international challenges and strengthen diplomatic ties.
The survey, conducted among adults aged 15 and older across 133 to 134 countries and regions, provided insights into global perceptions of U.S. leadership. The margin of sampling error for results based on the total sample of national adults ranged from 1.2 to 5.6 percentage points.
